KEY POINTS:
It takes more than a modicum of courage to forgo the comfort of a solid, successful business built over many years for the uncertainty that comes with a complete change of lifestyle.
To use the vernacular, you might say it takes a lot of bottle. For Steve and Bev Nathan, those words ring especially true.
After spending 16 years growing New Zealand's largest payroll software business, Comacc, Steve and Bev were ready for a change. The sale of their company in August last year to Australian accounting software provider MYOB gave them the perfect opportunity.
The Nathans sold up everything in Auckland and moved to sunny Hawkes Bay, with Steve making his wife a solemn promise not to go into business for at least six months.
Not one to sit around for long, however, Steve soon involved himself with other potentially profitable and lifestyle-enhancing opportunities.
These included a small vineyard growing chardonnay on the famed Ngatarawa Triangle.
Later this year, he plans to launch a brand new wine label.
"It was more to do with time than anything else; it just felt right for a change," Steve says.
"We had already made the decision to move to Hawkes Bay and I was going to commute three days a week, but then we got approaches from five different organisations to buy Comacc."
The family arrived in the Bay the week before Christmas and bought their 100-year-old "iconic" Maraekakaho villa - once the residence of the local minister - in May this year, after a bid to buy Lucknow Estate "fell over".
But fate was waiting to intervene.
"I just happened to see a poor, sad, lonely-looking vineyard on the side of Ngatarawa Road that looked like no one loved it," Steve says.
The couple sealed their commitment to a whole new lifestyle by buying the 6ha chardonnay-only block in February. Ninety-five per cent of the fruit is sold under contract, mostly to Mission Estate.
But the Nathans are no slouches when it comes to diving in the deep end and, with absolutely no wine-making experience of their own, Steve says they already have their very first vintage in the barrel, on the back of one of the best seasons in years: "It was a great way to start."
Having sourced more grapes from their fellow Bay growers, the Nathans hope to produce a chardonnay, a syrah, a merlot and a rose later this year under their own label, Salvare Estate.
As is often the case with a new venture, there is a story behind the name.
"The word 'salvation' comes from the Latin salvare and coming down here was our salvation," Steve explains.
But the Nathans haven't stopped there.
On a recent rainy Saturday morning in Martinborough, Steve came across a "for sale" advertisement for a small plastics manufacturing business.
Intrigued, he called the agent and when he was told the product was an innovative New Zealand-designed wine rack, another business was born.
"It was a little like the guy (Victor Kiam) who liked the Remington razor so much he brought the company," Steve said.
"When I saw it I thought 'I wish I'd designed that' and I could immediately see the synergies with other things we were doing.
"The fact that the business was easily transportable to Hawkes Bay was a bonus."
The beauty of the Winerax wine rack is that each individual rack can be joined, allowing quick, easy extension of length and height at any time.
In short, wine enthusiasts can construct a rack to fit the trickiest space - whether it is under the stairs, in the basement, bookcase or closet - and that wine storage can be expanded as and when required.
"It is also good for use on shelving," Steve points out.
"The four-bottle sections are also great for wine buffs who buy by the case. In addition to offering excellent stability, the durable plastic frames will not decay or go mouldy and bottles are stacked on a slight angle, making the wine labels easy to read."
What's more, the system locks together without the aid of tools and is just as easy to dismantle.
Where Winerax is concerned, Steve lives by Louis Khan's credo: "The world never needed Beethoven's Fifth Symphony until he created it. Now we could not live without it."
Like the ballpoint pen, the pneumatic tyre and the cats' eyes that define our motorways at night, it's a simple system that has the potential to become indispensable for wine buffs, wineries, retailers and wholesalers alike.
Characteristically, Steve has big plans for his new acquisition and is ready to take Winerax to the world.
"We are working on developing export markets in Australia and the UK where Winerax has design registrations," he says.
"We also want to get into the corporate gift market. With its light, compact design and with plenty of space for branding, Winerax makes the ideal gift.
"This is an exciting New Zealand product and we are looking forward to having some fun with it. I love to sell, I always have."
- HAWKE'S BAY TODAY
